Sony once again sits at the cusp of new formats that may or may not succeed by being the first to launch the newest flash memory card format.

The new format called the XQD is a high-speed memory card aimed at replacing the current format of CompactFlash cards. The inherent benefit of XQD is that it uses PCI Express serial communications links in computers to provide transfer speeds as high as 125MB/s.

The older CompactFlash format, however, isn’t dead yet! Lexar introduced the 1,000x CompactFlash card that can achieve a transfer rate as high as 150 MB/s.

CompactFlash is on its way out though. XQD is the future if the memory card makers of the world have anything to say about it. The true power of these cards is that they can eventually be extended up to 2TB of data. That’s a lot of data for such a little card.

The transfer speeds are already being improved as well with targets aiming at 250MB/s for second generation cards and 500MB/s for third generation cards.

The new cards are primarily being released for the new Nikon DSLR D4 camera that can shoot at a continuous 10fps at its 16.2-megapixel resolution.

For those interested in the future of memory cards, Sony will be releasing two sizes in February with 16GB and 32GB cards launching for $130 and $230 respectively.